RAMPAGE OPEN FIFTH SEASON!

Game night is almost upon us! I don’t know about you, but for me, growing up in Boston, I could not wait until the opening faceoff of the Bruins game that night. It was the 60’s and the Bruins were recovering from the drought of the early decade with the arrival of Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Kenny Hodge, Fred Stanfield, Johnny McKenzie, Gerry Cheevers and Ted Green to a team that already had Johnny Bucyk, Eddie Westfall and Dallas Smith. My excitement began at breakfast, stayed with me on my subway trip to downtown Beantown where I went to high school and then the trip back home. Time just stood still and my concentration in class was useless! Don Earle on TV and Bob Wilson on radio would tell me all about the game. Man, I could not wait!!!

I’m hoping that someday, 30 years from now, somebody writing in whatever media is still around in 2037 about the same feelings they had as a kid about pro hockey here in San Antonio. Should the Rampage get things going this season, there’s a good chance memories will be engraved on impressionable minds and that would be a good thing.

THE MAN?

Will Yanick Lehoux have his breakout professional season? Should he stay in San Antonio for most of the year, I can see Lehoux really taking off this season. There are so many more options to get him the puck where he can be very dangerous around the net. Last year, Lehoux showed he can set up teammates as he scored the most points in a season of anybody to wear the Bull, and this year it appears, with guys like Joey Tenute, Jon DiSalvatore, Alex Leavitt, Matt Murley, Joel Perrault, Enver Lisin and Bill Thomas among others, Lehoux has the support group of guys who can actually bend the twine instead of fanning on their shots as in the past. Lehoux needs just eight points to become the franchise all-time scorer, and since the team has a couple of heavyweights on the bench as well, Lehoux just may get some room to operate with opponents knowing they can’t take liberties with the Rampage stick raiser.

Most folks I’ve talked to are taking a more reserved view of the prospects of the team this season. And that’s good. Last year, with the arrival of AHL goal scoring champ Don MacLean, some people were looking forward to buying playoff tickets. The year before, we were stuck with the Utah Grizzlies South and the last year of the Florida Panthers affiliation, with some high profile players on the roster, many AHL experts were making plans for the Calder Cup to sit in front of the Alamo when the season ended. We all know what has happened over the past three years. Just having a competitve club isn’t an option right now. This team needs to strap it on, play hard, play rough and get lots of W’s. Business manager Ryan Snider and game night production guru, Brian Ricketts can only do so much without help from the on ice gladiators this season, and I’m not talking about the sumo wrestlers or human hockey pucks.

HARD WORK PAYS OFF DEPARTMENT

Belated congrats to former Rampage forward Daniel Winnick on his game winner in the Coyotes season opening win over St.Louis. Two years ago, Winnick was skating for the University of New Hampshire and Thursday night scored his first NHL goal and Phoenix’ third marker of the night on Manny Legace. I’m sure if the hockey pundits in the desert were to pick which Coyotes rookie would score his first NHL goal first, Winnick’s name would be penciled in way below high profile newcomers Peter Mueller and Martin Hanzal, who set up Winnick’s gamer. Danny always seemed to give it his best on every shift, and if you recall, he scored on his first AHL shift with the Rampage two seasons ago!

Weird Legace story…Manny was playing for the Las Vegas Thunder and got clocked on a shot that hit him on the forehead and laid him out flat on his back at the Freeman Coliseum. I wasn’t on the air that night because of too many on-air conflicts and not enough radio stations to broadcast the game, so I was playing team PR man. I went down to check on Legace’s condition for Thunder play-by-play man Tim Neveritt between periods when I saw Thunder GM Bob Strum, with whom I had a decent relationship, at least I thought I did. He was upset because Las Vegas was in a playoff hunt while the Dragons were playing out the string, so when I asked him how Manny was doing, he went into orbit. He was so worked up that he was literally spitting swear words at me and I could have used a windshield and some wipers. He was flailing his arms, his face beet red and his reaction really caught me off guard.

The humorous part of the tale comes from across the vast expanse under the grandstand, for standing in front of the Dragons locker room was Danny Shank, who really despised Strum for trading him to Detroit a couple of years before. After the game, Shanker told me in his French accent, “I was ready to come to your help you out, Tony!” The improbable would-be vision of Shank, screeching across the smooth concrete of the Freeman, sparks flying from his skates, stick swinging proudly to rescue me from Bob Strum still brings a smile to my face 10 years later.

FORMER ATT CENTER TORMENTOR IN THE SHOW

Nice to see former Griffins winger Juri Hudler score the game winning goal in Detroit’s shootout victory over Anaheim Wednesday. Hudler, who scored what seemed like 50 of his 65 AHL goals against the Rampage, was the only player to score in the shootout.

Do you think NHL fans have bought into the shootout? We’ve had it since day one of the Iggies and even this longtime, battle tested hockey follower was won over that first season. I don’t hear a lot of complaints about the format and my family members back home, tradionalists all, have embraced the shootout as an exciting way to finish games. I can still remember leaving the Gahden after a 2-2 tie against the Toronto Maple Leafs one night as a kid and asking my dad why the game ended like that. “They just do, son,” was his reply. Kinda silly to depart the premises without a winner…kinda like college football’s non-winner on the field championship system, eh? And remember, what was the most exciting event in the NHL all-star game skills competition? Everyone agreed it was the shootout. Nice to see it catching on.

COMMENTS ON YOUR COMMENTS

Richard wrote and referenced my Iggy remarks and agreed they were fun to watch but he likes the higher level of play from the IHL and AHL. My sentiments exactly. However, since many SA hockey fans cut their teeth on the Iguanas, they may think that’s what hockey is all about. So I cut them some slack, but Richard, I’m with ya when it comes to burying the hatchet. Can’t we all just get along? And from what I’ve seen, there are some silly holdouts, but most SA hockey fans are now Rampage supporters.

Julia wished the paper would support hockey more. Julia, I know the coverage is skimpy, but compared to the electronic media in San Antonio, the Express-News coverage is OJ Simpson-ish. Winning will make the Rampage relevant, but with the Red River shootout, high school football heading into district matchups, the Spurs training camp starting, the Valero Texas Open, the Cowboys 4-0 and the Texans winning, plus the baseball playoffs starting up, space is tight. John Whisler is back on the beat. He handled the Iguanas back in the second season and will do an excellent job. But winning will get the attention of the folks with pancake on their faces. Maybe, even some of the radio stations will tell folks the score the next morning as well.

And isn’t it great to see the Rampage billboards in high traffic areas? That’s the most outdoor hockey signage I’ve seen since the Dragons covered a VIA bus with their logo in 1996.

And Manuel, you are absolutely right about the Phoenix attitude adjustment! Ireland exudes enthusiasm in his tone and mannerisms. It will be interesting to see how that translates on the scoreboard.